74 THE PRINCIPLES OF 



according as the actual weald clay predominates, or the soils 

 which are derived from the Hastings sands and other sandy 

 formations associated with the Weald, such as the sands 

 of Folkestone, Sandgate, and Hythe. No doubt a large 

 portion of the district is exceedingly difficult land, more 

 suitable for pasturage than for arable cultivation, and of a 

 nature which requires a very considerable amount of skill 

 in order to render the cultivation profitable. It has earned 

 rather an evil notoriety, a good deal of money having been 

 sunk there in unprofitable farming. 



I will next ask attention to the large and extensive series 

 of soils, which are based upon what is known as the oolitic 

 formations. These soils occur upon the north and west 

 boundary of the greensands. Accordingly they are to be 

 found in the first place in. the county of Yorkshire, forming 

 a considerable portion of the East and North Hidings. They 

 extend in a south-westerly direction, occupying a large 

 portion of the Midlands of England, and trend gradually 

 towards the mouth of the Severn, so that from the mouth of 

 the Tees upon the north-east to the estuary of the Severn 

 on the south-west we find a broad area of the country covered 

 entirely with soils belonging to the oolitic formation. It is 

 necessary to divide this great section in the following manner 

 in the first place the upper oolite, in the second place the 

 middle oolite, and thirdly, the lower oolite ; and in looking 

 at these three series of the oolites we shall find that the upper 

 division is composed largely of the Purbeck beds, Portland 

 beds, and Kimmeridge clay. The two first-named formations 

 yield soils of light character, while the Kimmeridge clay 

 forms soils of clayey character, but of fair and even good 

 quality. As the Purbeck and Portland beds are restricted 

 chiefly to Dorsetshire, we find that by far the larger portion 

 of the upper oolite is composed of Kimmeridge clay. The 

 Kimmeridge clay is in fact the predominating element in 



